In this brief verse, Peter gives profound instruction to the disciple of Jesus Christ for dealing with anxiety in their life. This is the fifth in a series of blogs exploring anxiety and then applying Peter’s instruction to every believer’s everyday life.

“casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”

We have seen that anxiety is “the ongoing fear and emotional distress and unease felt in response to some perceived threat, whether real or imaginary.” In our last two studies, we have looked at the first two of four broad practical strategies that will help lead to victory over anxiety. So far we have examined the strategy of disciplining our thoughts and the strategy of prayer and confession of fear. In this study I want to cover the last two strategies for battling anxiety, namely the strategy of fellowship with other believers and the strategy of becoming saturated with Scripture.

FELLOWSHIP WITH OTHER BELIEVERS

Key verses: Hebrews 10:24-25. “And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” Other helpful verses are Romans 1:12; the principle of 1 Kings 19:3, 16b, 21

Key concept: One of the primary means of battling anxiety is spending time with other believers in genuine fellowship, in mutual exhortation and encouragement, and in gathered worship. Being among our fellow disciples in activities that draw us God-ward tends to dispel anxious thoughts and points our mind in a heavenly direction (Colossians 3:1-2), making us more joyful and useful.

I think that one of the most persistent consequences of the fall of man is the tendency for all people to seize upon the negative. Thus it is that we allow fears to sprout and then we often fertilize them until they grow into anxieties. But this trend most often happens when we are alone (Genesis 2:18) and when our mind is not engaged in Spirit-controlled activity. When these two practices are coupled together, fears and anxieties can easily escalate.

Genuine fellowship between believers will overwhelm these anxieties. By fellowship I mean “the intentional sharing of our life in Christ which results in speaking truth with each other for mutual encouragement and for the worship of Jesus.” This fellowship between believers fills the mind and the spirit so that fears are smothered and are replaced with feelings of joy and freedom and boldness and courage and resolve. Believers leave times of fellowship ready and eager to walk worthy of the gospel. The hunger for holiness is heightened. We speak truth to one another (Ephesians 4:25), so truth abounds and lies are destroyed as soon as they appear. Incorrect thinking and speaking are corrected for mutual edification. We fulfill the ‘one another’ commands of the Scripture. And in worship, which is the most glorious sort of fellowship, our spirits soar as a gathered body of believers who are joyfully praising our risen Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, I urge you to add a strong dose of genuine Christian fellowship to your life as a stout antidote for anxiety. Fellowship with other believers is a strong strategy for “casting all your anxiety on Him.”

SATURATE YOUR MIND WITH THE WORD OF GOD

That brings us to the fourth and final strategy, that of becoming saturated with the Scripture. The Lord has given us His Word as an offensive weapon in spiritual warfare (Eph. 6:17-18) and this same word of God enables the disciple of Christ to be consistent and effective in “casting all our anxieties on Him.”

First, how do we saturate our minds? Saturating the mind means a constant and intentional exposure to the word of God. Read the Word. Hear the Word. Study the Word. Memorize the Word. Meditate on the Word. Like a sponge being dipped in water until it can hold no more, so the disciple takes in the word of God until the Word oozes from their pores and flows out of their mouth and controls their mind (2 Cor. 10:5).

And then what are the benefits of saturating the mind with the words and thoughts of the living God? Saturating the mind with the Word makes the disciple familiar with the promises of God to His people so that these precious and magnificent promises (2 Peter 1:4) are readily called to mind. When fears arise, recalling the promises of God will quench the flames of fear. In addition to keeping the promises of God at the forefront of the mind, saturating the mind with the Word will impress the disciple with the Lord’s power toward us who believe (Ephesians 1:19). When we read the Scriptures, we can see the Lord’s power and can also receive His power (Acts 1:8). This forms a ready defense when fears begin to threaten. The mind filled with the Word of God is also familiar with God’s faithfulness. When the believer reads that the Lord is with him or her as a mighty champion (Jeremiah 20:11) and that the Lord will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5), then the Lord’s faithfulness looms large (“Your faithfulness reaches to the skies” Psalm 36:5) and threats are overwhelmed.

So if you and I saturate our mind with the Word of God, we will have a ready defense for the fears and anxieties that rise up in our lives.

SDG        rmb            4/7/2017

In this brief verse, Peter gives profound instruction to the disciple of Jesus Christ for dealing with anxiety in their life. This is the third in a series of blogs exploring anxiety and then applying Peter’s instruction to every believer’s everyday life.

“casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”

We have seen that anxiety is “the ongoing fear and emotional distress and unease felt in response to some perceived threat, whether real or imaginary.” In our last study, it was shown that anxiety in the life of the believer robs God of His deserved glory and disobeys the explicit commands of Scripture to fear not. Thus the disciple of Christ must be resolved to drive anxiety out of his/her life forever. Now, since the word of God commands us to be “casting all your anxiety of Him . . .” we will turn to practical, biblical strategies and means for “casting.” Here is our goal: that we become so aware of our sinful anxiety and we detest its presence so much, that casting our anxiety on the Lord becomes a reflex response. When I feel fear and anxiety rising up within me; when my stomach begins to have that characteristic knot in it, I want to automatically and intentionally respond by casting that anxiety on the Lord. I want to learn this skill of casting my anxiety; I want to learn it well. Let the unbeliever deal with their anxieties and their fears, but let the believer resolve to reject all fear and cast all anxiety into the depths of the sea by casting it onto the powerful shoulders of our great God.

It is almost time to explore how to cast our anxiety onto the Lord, but first I want to say this. As one who has dealt with anxiety for a long time and who has experienced the Lord’s deliverance from its misery, we must realize that the journey to freedom from anxiety is probably going to be a long one. This is because we have indulged anxiety and tolerated anxiety and even cultivated anxiety for a long time. Anxiety has been allowed to dwell in our minds and to unsettle our hearts and now it will be difficult to dislodge it. Anxiety’s roots now run deep and digging them out will take an attitude of being alert to the disease and a diligence and a persistence in getting rid of it. Like all spiritual growth, the victories will come little by little (Deuteronomy 7:22) as you continue to trust the Lord and seek His face. It is likely that you have allowed worry and anxiety to dwell unopposed and unhindered in your life and you have not been diligent to attack it at every turn. The fact is that you and I can develop strong habits of anxiety and default responses of worry and fear and breaking these habits will take time and practice and effort. But now we are resolving to “put to death” (Colossians 3:5) the habits of anxiety and to drive anxiety out little by little.

FOUR PRACTICAL STRATEGIES:

I suggest there are four broad practical strategies that lead to victory over anxiety:

• Discipline our thoughts (2 Cor. 10:5; Romans 12:2; Isaiah 26:3);
• Prayer and Confession (Phil. 4:6-7);
• Fellowship and Encouragement from other believers (Hebrews 10:24-25; Romans 1:12; etc.); and
• Memorize the Promises of Scripture (Isa. 12:1-6; 43:1-7; 41:10-16; Psalm 34:4, 6; Psalm 91; etc.)

 

 

DISCIPLINE OUR THOUGHTS

Key verses: 2 Corinthians 10:5 – “we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ;” Romans 12:2 – “be transformed by the renewing of your mind;” Isaiah 12:2 – “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid.”

Key concept: The believer must discipline his/her thoughts such that the mind is trained to avoid all the paths and reject all access to anxiety.

Before a person comes to faith in Christ, he/she lives an undisciplined life and thus develops habits of mind that lead to places of sin. This is certainly true in regard to areas of overt sin, but it is also true in the way the mind is allowed to respond to threats. For the unbeliever, threat often triggers fear and anxiety, and as this pattern of “see-threat-feel-anxiety” is repeated over and over again, the mind is trained to respond automatically to a threat, whether real or imagined, with fear and anxiety. Thus thinking is effectively bypassed by the habit of anxiety. Now this person hears the gospel and they repent of their sins and they place their faith in Christ and they become a new creature in Christ. What happens to the old habit of mind of “see-threat-feel-anxiety?” That habit will remain firmly intact and will continue unabated until the new disciple of Christ, through the power of the Spirit and by intentional effort, destroys those fortresses (2 Cor. 10:4) and disciplines his/her mind to reject the old habit and to respond as a believer in trust and confidence.

What I am saying is that you and I have developed and then nurtured the habit of anxiety in our minds out of ignorance as unbelievers and then out of carelessness as believers, but it is now time for the destruction of those fortresses. The first strategy, then, is to discipline our thoughts. We must be aware of our thoughts and take control our thoughts so that they are focused on truth and not on fear. Anxiety exists in our thoughts, and so “we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” The first step in taking a thought captive is for me to be aware of my thoughts and to discern where those thoughts are leading. Is this thought leading toward fear? Have I started down a path of untruth that will end in anxiety? When I begin to feel that tightening in my stomach or sense the distraction brought on by fear, I need to assess what my mind is doing. Then seize the thought; take it captive and overwhelm it with truth. Stop the anxious thought dead in its tracks and get off the path leading to fear and go in a different direction. This is all done in the mind. Remember that, now that we are in Christ Jesus, “We are being transformed by the renewing of our mind.” As a part of our sanctification, we are destroying old habits of mind and replacing them with God-honoring ones. Before we succumbed to the sinful habit of responding to threats with distrust and fear, but now we say, “Behold! God is my salvation! I will trust and not be afraid!” My thoughts are being filled with truth and are being purged of the lies and foolish, useless speculations that filled my brain and that offered no defense from anxiety.

The first strategy, then, is to discipline our thoughts and to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. Strive to secure undistracted devotion to Christ. So fill your mind with the things and the thoughts of the Lord Jesus that other thoughts are crowded out and overwhelmed.

The next blog will address the other three strategies that lead to victory over anxiety.

SDG             rmb               3/20/2017

In this brief verse, Peter gives profound instruction to the disciple of Jesus Christ for dealing with anxiety in their life. This is the second in a series of blogs exploring anxiety and then applying Peter’s instruction to every believer’s everyday life.

“casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”

As mentioned in our previous study, anxiety is “the ongoing fear and emotional distress and unease felt in response to some perceived threat, whether real or imaginary.” When wrestling with anxiety, the disciple of Jesus is not walking by faith but is instead responding to a perceived threat as an unbeliever would respond. By contrast, the word of God commands the disciple to be “casting your anxiety on the Lord, because He cares for you.” In this study I want to consider how anxiety in the life of the believer robs God of His deserved glory and then follow that up by looking at practical ways of “casting our anxiety on Him.”

In the Scriptures, our God declares Himself to be the only God and the only One deserving of glory and honor and praise. He is the Creator-God and the heavens declare His glory and proclaim His righteousness. He is sovereign over all things, so He acts and no one can reverse it. He does whatever He pleases. He has no rivals and He experiences no threats. If He is for us, no one can be against us. There is nothing too difficult for Him and there is nothing impossible for Him. This is our God and this is the One who has called us to salvation and who has promised that He will be our Defender and our Shield and our Strong Tower and our Fortress. He bids us to dwell in the shelter of the Most High and to abide in the shadow of the Almighty. Our God is mighty to save and He speaks with derision and contempt at all so-called gods who attempt to contend with Him. He rules and He reigns.

This is the Lord God in whom the disciple has believed and whom the disciple trusts and loves. Once an orphan and a stranger in the earth, the disciple has now been adopted as a child of the King of kings and has been seated in the heavenly places. It is, therefore, easy to see that when a disciple of the Lord of heaven perceives a threat here on earth and responds with fear and anxiety, the disciple is robbing God of His glory. The Lord has declared and demonstrated His power, but our anxiety says that our God is not in control, our God is not powerful enough to help us and our God does not really care for us. By our anxiety, the disciple of Jesus is not only explicitly disobeying the commands of Scripture to not fear, but he/she is also calling God’s word and God’s character and God’s promises into question. My anxiety essentially “gives occasion for the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme (2 Samuel 12:14).” By my anxiety I am robbing my Lord of His deserved glory. Instead of glorifying the Lord with all my life, I am doing exactly the opposite. I do not say this to make you feel guilty, but rather to convict you and me of the sinfulness of anxiety and to use that conviction as a motivator to vanquish the demon of anxiety once and for all.

Now having made the determination that anxiety will be forever conquered in our lives, we will take a look at practical ways to be “casting our anxiety on Him.” That will be the subject of the next study.

SDG                            rmb                            3/15/2017

In this brief verse, Peter gives profound instruction to the disciple of Jesus Christ for dealing with anxiety in their life. This series of blogs explores anxiety and applies Peter’s instruction to every believer’s everyday life.

“casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”

Anxiety is simply a part of the human experience. This needs to be stated right up front and this should not come as news to anyone who has lived more than a few years. If we are honest with ourselves, many of us deal with some degree of anxiety much of the time. This is a consequence of the Fall of man. When Adam disobeyed the LORD and sin entered the world, fear and anxiety also entered human experience and they remain a common part of life. But what we will see is that the disciple of Jesus Christ does not need to be subject to anxiety. The word of God gives us solid answers to this paralyzing fear.

First, though, anxiety must be defined if we are going to combat it. Anxiety is not the same thing as having troubles or problems. Everyone has troubles and problems of some magnitude. In the book of Job we read that “Man was made for trouble as the sparks fly upward (5:7).”  Again, the Fall of man destroyed paradise here on earth and guaranteed troubles for everyone, believer and unbeliever alike. Since on this earth we live after the Fall and before heaven, we should realize that troubles are guaranteed.

But we also observe that one person may have a serious problem and feel no anxiety at all and another person may have a trivial annoyance and be tormented with anxiety. So while problems are universal, anxiety is not. What is the difference, then, between a problem and anxiety? Think about this. Trouble is objective. Other people can see and validate trouble or a problem. Anxiety is subjective and only you can feel your anxiety. A problem is fact-based, whereas anxiety is emotionally and psychologically and spiritually based. A definition of anxiety might be “the ongoing fear and emotional distress and unease felt in response to some perceived threat, whether real or imaginary.” It will be shown that, not only is anxiety not a necessary response for the disciple of Christ, but a response of anxiety demonstrates a lack of trust in the Lord and is actually sin. The disciple of Christ is commanded in many places in the Scripture to not fear and anxiety explicitly disobeys those commands.

One more thing that I wanted to cover before going deep into the subject is to draw the contrast between the believer and the unbeliever regarding this matter of anxiety. The Lord intends for there to be a distinction between His people and the rest of people in all areas and certainly there should be a difference here. For the unbeliever, there is no answer to anxiety and the unbeliever has no reason not to be fearful. The one who is outside of Christ is effectively an orphan and a stranger in the world. The unbeliever is completely on their own to fend off the threats of this life, without a heavenly Father and with no one who will hear their prayers and no one who has the power to answer their cries. The one without Christ has no champion to fight for them and no promises to offer hope. When the voices of doubt and fear rise up inside their head, there is no one on whom the unbeliever can cast their anxiety, for “the face of the LORD is against evildoers, to cut off the memory of them from the earth (Psalm 34:16).” This is the state of the unbeliever and this was your state and my state before we were rescued and brought to faith in Christ. Anxiety was our inevitable lot.

By contrast, the disciple of Jesus has been raised up with Christ and has been seated in the heavenly places with Christ (Ephesians 2:4-7) and through Christ has direct access to the very throne of heaven (Ephesians 2:18). The Lord of heaven has promised over and over again to be our shield and our defender. The Lord is with us like a dread champion (Jeremiah 20:11) and He, our Champion, cannot lose against any foe. Our God has promised us His presence here on earth and He has promised that we will be with Him forever in heaven. He will never leave us or forsake us. All things are under His sovereign control, for our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases (Psalm 115:3). And here in 1 Peter 5:7, through the Apostle Peter the Lord tells us that we are to be “casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”

In the next couple of blogs we will look at what it means to cast our anxieties on Him.                SDG                        rmb                         3/13/2017

There are many passages in the Old Testament that are incomprehensible without the New Testament gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. What I mean to say is that, without the atoning work of Christ on the cross and the forgiveness that the atonement provides, there are many passages in the Old Testament that remain mysteries and suggest that God is not serious about the commandments of the Law that He has laid down. He declares that the soul that sins shall die (Ezekiel 18:4, 20), but David sins by adultery and murder and his sins are taken away and he does not die (2 Samuel 12:13). How is this possible, if the LORD is serious about His Law? The answer to that question is that, although Christ and His sacrifice for sin are not yet revealed in the Old Testament, they are an accomplished fact in God’s mind and so they are effective even before they are revealed.

This concept is difficult to describe even with many words, so let me give an example of Christ being present in the Old Testament from a psalm. In Psalm 96:8-9 we read:

8)         Ascribe to the LORD the glory of His name;

Bring an offering and come into His courts.

9)         Worship the LORD in holiness;

Tremble before Him, all the earth.

I believe Christ is in these verses. Let me explain how He is revealed. First, the reader is commanded to “ascribe to the LORD the glory of His name.” Although not at all required by the context in this psalm, it must be acknowledged that God is glorified by the death of Jesus. (Isaiah 53:7-10) In fact, as His time for crucifixion approached, Jesus Himself said, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified (John 12:23).” These words, ”the hour,” implied His death. In this same context of His imminent death, Jesus said, “Father, glorify Your name,” with the obvious reference being His own death and resurrection (12:28). And while God’s glory is unlimited and His glory is certainly not only expressed in Christ’s glorious death and resurrection, it is also possible that this psalm speaks of the glory of God in the death of Christ. This is made more likely by the next line of verse 8.

“Bring an offering and come into His courts.” Now the Hebrew worshiper would be expected to bring a goat or a bull or a lamb for an offering, but these offerings were mere shadows pointing to the real and final sacrifice that would forever provide access to the heavenly courts. And so the psalmist is here speaking of the offering of Christ and of the joyful welcoming into the heavenly courts that will be given to all those who bring this offering before the Lord. Receive Christ and then freely come into the courts of the LORD.

Those who bring this most holy of all offerings into the courts of the Lord will “worship the LORD in holiness.” This holiness has two aspects to it. First, the believer is viewed as perfectly holy in this life because of the imputed holiness of Christ (2 Cor. 5:21), but second, the believer will “worship the LORD in holiness” in the life to come because they will actually be holy. Having shed the sinful flesh of this life, the believer will know the unhindered joy of worshiping the LORD in true and pure holiness.

But as the believer is worshiping the LORD in holiness, the rest of fallen mankind is “trembling before Him, all the earth.” In other words, the psalmist is telling us of the stark contrast that will exist between the believer and the unbeliever. Believers worship the LORD in holiness, joyfully giving praise to their God, while those who have rejected Christ experience fear and a terrifying anticipation of judgment. The believer sees the LORD as His heavenly Father, while the unrighteous ones tremble before their holy, heavenly Judge. The contrast is the result of how each person sees the Lord Jesus Christ.

So the Bible urges us to bring an offering, the offering of Christ, and then to come into the heavenly courts. If we do not do that, we will tremble before Him and we will be forever condemned.

SDG                      rmb                     3/5/2017

“The light of the eyes gladdens the heart;

Good news puts fat on the bones.” – Proverbs 15:30

The book of Proverbs is considered to be part of the wisdom literature of the Old Testament and is not generally viewed as the most evangelistic section of the Bible by most readers. I think, however, if we read Proverbs a little more slowly and a little bit more thoughtfully, we will find hidden in its wisdom a number of foreshadows of the gospel and of the Lord Jesus. I think Proverbs 15:30 is a good example of this.

First we need some background in how to read the proverbs. Because the book is not arranged in any apparent order, context for a given proverb does not help us understand the meaning of the proverb. There are, however, approaches to interpreting them. Many proverbs contrast the righteous and the wicked and give characteristics of each group and the wise man will make his life conform to the righteous standard. There are also a number of proverbs that display Hebrew parallelism, which means that the proverb says the same thing with two different expressions. If you can understand the meaning of one of the two expressions, then you have understood the basic teaching of the proverb. Proverbs 15:30 is such a proverb, an example of Hebrew parallelism. To grasp the message of Proverbs 15:30, then, we will focus on the second half of the verse.

“Good news puts fat on the bones.”

Having decided on an interpretation strategy, let’s look at the actual words. We can agree that the expression “puts fat on the bones” is not intended to speak about literal bones nor is it intended to speak about actual body fat. Rather, the expression “puts fat on the bones” can probably be translated as meaning, “brings happiness and prosperity.” Putting fat on the bones means that life is good and you feel that life is good. You are optimistic and hopeful and your life feels ‘fat.’ This is the opposite of worried or weary or withered or harried. Life is peaceful and content.

Now I would suggest that there are two different types of prosperity, two types of “fat on the bones.” There is temporary prosperity and there is permanent or eternal prosperity. Temporary prosperity is good, but there is with this temporary prosperity the feeling that it could go away at any time. There is the feeling that it is kind of like a beautiful sunset or a fragrant aroma: it is wonderful while it lasts, but this experience is definitely fleeting and fragile. But what if the prosperity was permanent, even eternal? Eternal prosperity that could never be lost – now THAT would truly be fat on the bones!

So, while the book of Proverbs is wisdom literature, we must realize that the Bible is not primarily written to make us happy for this life only. All of the Bible, including the book of Proverbs, is primarily aimed at telling us who God is, telling us who we are in relation to God, and instructing us how we can escape God’s wrath and enjoy Him instead. So when a verse in the Bible tells us about “putting fat on the bones,” we can be sure that the Bible is giving us some instruction about eternal prosperity. So “Good news puts fat on the bones” could also be rendered, “Good news guides us toward eternal prosperity.”

Now we are getting somewhere! Now we are making progress. So the key seems to be the “good news.” It would certainly be incredibly good news if the news we discovered led us to eternal prosperity, but what “good news” could do that? If we turn now to the pages of the New Testament, we find that there is a lot of talk about good news. In fact, the Greek word for “good news” is the word that is translated “gospel.” The main message of the New Testament is the good news (the gospel) of Jesus Christ. Mark begins his account of the life of Jesus Christ with this verse: “The beginning of the gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” Paul says in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel (good news), for it is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe.” What this means is that the good news that puts fat on the bones; the good news that leads to eternal prosperity is the gospel of Jesus Christ, that Christ has left heaven to come to earth to die an atoning death on the cross and to rise victorious from the grave, so that whoever places their faith in Him should not perish, but would have eternal life. Now that is good news that gladdens the heart and that puts major fat on the bones.

What we see, then, right here in Proverbs 15:30 is a veiled picture of the Lord Jesus Christ and the gospel of His salvation, the good news that puts fat on our bones eternally.

SDG                    rmb                    2/26/2017

 

With this study I want to take a fairly specific look at the tenth plague (Exodus 11-12) that the LORD brought on the land of Egypt and on Pharaoh, Egypt’s ruler. This is called either the plague of the death of the firstborn or the Passover, depending on whose experience is in view. Before I look at the tenth plague, I want to get some context for this great event.

It is important to understand that the LORD brought the plagues on the land of Egypt (Exodus 7-12) to destroy the most powerful country then on earth as a demonstration of His power and to humiliate the false gods of the Egyptians by showing that those false gods were impotent. Almost each plague was an attack against a different Egyptian god.

But what prompted the LORD to destroy Egypt? What prompted the LORD to destroy Egypt was the arrogant question that Pharaoh asked Moses (Exodus 5:2): “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice?” Now, there should be a horrified gasp and an evident wince from everyone who hears that question from Pharaoh. “O Pharaoh, you should not have said that. You should not speak that way about the LORD of all the earth, for the LORD does not take your arrogance and pride lightly. And the LORD will not be ignored and despised, nor will He tolerate being compared to other gods. ‘Who is the LORD?’ you ask. You are about to find out who the LORD is, and when He is finished with you, you will not be in any doubt. The LORD, He is God and He will be obeyed and He will be worshiped or He will be your Destroyer.” So the ten plagues which systematically destroyed Egypt were the means the LORD used to answer Pharaoh’s question.

Now that we have established the context for the plagues, I want to focus on the tenth and final plague. This was by far the most significant plague, because this plague brought about the death of the firstborn. For God’s people, this event was known as the Passover when the LORD, in His mercy, passed over the houses which had the blood on the door post. Where there was the prescribed blood on the door, the LORD spared the firstborn. But for the Egyptians who did not put the blood of the lamb on the door post, this tenth plague meant death and judgment. The point to understand here is that the Passover event pictured both mercy and judgment. For those who were covered by the blood of the lamb, there was the LORD’s mercy, but for those who were not, there was death and judgment as the LORD killed the first-born. The difference between mercy and judgment was the blood of the lamb.

As we understand the Passover, we see that it is a crystal clear picture and a “foreshadow” of what the final Passover Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ, accomplished when He died on the cross. For the situation today is exactly the same as it was for the children of Israel and the Egyptians so long ago, at least in this sense: still today, as then, every single human being will receive either mercy or judgment from the Lord, and the difference is the blood of the Lamb. Hebrews 9:27 says, “And it is appointed for man to die once and after this comes the judgment.” From this verse it is clear that there is a judgment coming. Whether we believe it or not, there is coming a day for every single human being when they will stand before the Lord to be judged, and on that day, the verdict will either be eternal life or eternal condemnation. For the one who has repented of their sins and who has believed in Jesus Christ, that day will be a day of mercy, since the Lord will see the blood of the Lamb of God on that person’s soul and judgment will forever pass over them. But for the one who has not placed their faith in Jesus Christ; for the one who has ignored the warnings and the pleadings and who has continued in their sin and who has never called upon the name of the Lord (Romans 10:13); for the one who has trusted in their own righteousness and who has continued to believe that the Lord’s patience would last forever, there will be terrifying judgment and eternal condemnation. Every single human being will experience an eternity of either mercy or judgment, and which eternity awaits you depends on the blood.

And so the question that must be answered is this: “Are you certain that the blood of the Lamb is over your doorpost?” That is, have you definitely and irreversibly committed yourself to follow the Lord Jesus by repenting from your sin and placing your faith in Christ? Because of your faith, have you been wrapped in a robe of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10)? In the Judgment, will Jesus’ blood cover your sin and atone for your sin and thus allow you to receive God’s mercy, or will you be one of those who experiences the terrifying wrath of God forever? It all depends on the blood.

SDG                                      rmb                                   2/26/2017

In our last study we saw that in these two verses there are two distinct cups: there is “THE CUP” and there is “My cup.” We saw last time that THE CUP (20:22) was a symbol of the judgment of God and the wrath of God against sin and that this was THE CUP of the curse that Jesus Christ was to drink.

But Christ also speaks of “My cup.” Jesus says, “My cup you shall drink . . .” “My cup” is the one that every follower of Jesus Christ will drink. Because Christ drank “THE CUP” of God’s judgment, we who are His followers will drink Christ’s cup of fellowship and grace and blessing. Let’s see what Scripture says about Christ’s cup, which we will call “My cup.”

MY CUP

Jesus said to them, “My cup you shall drink.” After reading of what “THE CUP” meant to Christ (20:22) and how He incurred tremendous suffering to drink that cup, the reader may conclude that “My cup” has a similar meaning. At first, Jesus’ words may sound like an ominous warning, but they are, in fact, entirely different than that. Instead of an ominous warning, these words are the Savior’s sure promise of unspeakable blessing for every disciple of Jesus Christ. With these words, Jesus gives His promise that everyone who has trusted in Christ is entitled to sit at His heavenly table and to drink eternally of Christ’s cup of communion and joy and peace.

“My (heavenly) cup you shall drink . . .”

There are three aspects to “My cup” that we need to understand.

First, “My cup” is a cup of fellowship with Jesus and with His Body, the church. This fellowship is explicitly celebrated in the Lord’s Supper, where Jesus is spiritually present and the Body of believers is gathered to remember Him and to have fellowship with Him, but this fellowship is also manifested in the many “one another” teachings in the New Testament and in the ongoing expressions of Christian love experienced in the Body of Christ.

In the Last Supper (Mark 14, Matthew 26, Luke 22 and John 14-16), the Lord Himself initiated this time of intimate fellowship between Christ and His disciples. The fellowship is now continued through the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 10-11). Because Christ drank THE CUP, His followers have peace with God (Romans 5:1-10; 2 Cor. 5:18-20) and enjoy intimate fellowship with God (1 John 1:3). So the first aspect of Christ’s cup (“My cup”) to recognize is that it is a cup of fellowship.

Second, the disciple of Jesus Christ gets the privilege of sharing in the sufferings of Christ. With the blessings of Christ’s cup inevitably come the sharing in Christ’s sufferings. My experience of suffering is limited, but in that suffering I find that I am in closest fellowship with Christ and am most identified with Christ. (Phil. 3:10; Col. 1:24; 1 Peter 4:12-14; Gal. 6:14, 17; Acts 5:41; Matthew 5:10-12) Because Christ drank THE CUP of God’s wrath, we can joyously and fearlessly endure suffering for His name’s sake.

The third aspect of “My cup” is to realize that we who belong to Christ will ultimately drink Christ’s cup in heaven with Him for all of eternity. Because Christ drank THE CUP of God’s wrath for us, there is a time coming when all believers of all the ages will be gathered around the table of the King of kings and the Lord of lords to forever drink from His cup of peace and joy and love. Jesus’ words from the Last Supper point forward to that day:

“This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new WITH YOU in My Father’s kingdom” (Matthew 26:28-29). Our destiny is to forever drink from His heavenly cup, because Christ drank THE CUP on our behalf.

SDG         rmb        2/13/2017